A boy emerged from the dead woods holding a bow in one hand and an arrow in the other. He had short messy blonde hair with a messy braid that went all the way to his back. His skin was pale and his cheeks were hollow. His sharp blue eyes were hypnotizing as his lips oozed the vibe of seduction. He was beautiful, a rather feminine type. His outfit contrasted his beautiful face with black slacks and a white long sleeved collared shirt, which was all supported by black suspenders.
He snapped his fingers three times and tilted his head.
"Um, you're gonna answer my question?"
I jerked back and turned my head to Charles. His face wore the expression of fear and happiness.
"W-what's your name?"
The boy scratched his face and placed his bow on his back, raising his eyebrow.
"I asked first. How are you gonna ask me a question when I asked you a question first? Do you have any manners?"
"We're human."
The boy smiled and walked towards me, inches away from me he looked down and patted my head.
"Good job. My name's John Smith."
I grabbed his hand and pulled his finger. He quickly pulled his hand back but I readied myself for a battle.
"Don't touch me!"
I charged forward and received a short and concise punch to the gut…everything went black after that.
I woke up to see Charles and John talking, but I decided to pretend I was still unconscious.
"True Realm?"
"Yea, that's what this entity keeps telling me in my dreams. That this is the real world and everything else is a lie. Those who find themselves here have something to hide, even from themselves. You can either find out who you truly are…or live in this world forever."
Wait, are we in a shack? Well I guess the shack is back, oh that's something that my story never lacks…that was so cool. It had the same vibe as Claire's shack, yet it was way older and seemed like he was repairing it everyday. Now this is a shack that looks hand built. Did this boy really do all of this himself? That's…amazing, even though I could probably do better. I'll give him credit though.
John readjusted his posture and laid on the ground.
"I've already found my book. I've been trying to get it but this monster is guarding it for some reason."
"What does it look like?"
Everything went silent after Charles asked that question.
"A spider."
Suddenly the shack began to shake and John stood still.
"I even tried to escape this part of the forest. But it won't let me. It's like being watched…every second of your life. I can't do anything."
Charles stared at him for a moment before standing up. He placed his hands on his back and stretched before walking towards the door.
"Hey, watch over the girl while I'm gone."
"Where are you going?"
"To see the spider creature."
"But…"
"We won't get out of this situation until we do something."
John unsheathed his dagger and tossed it to Charles. They both looked each other in the eyes, one with indifference and one with admiration.
"Stay safe!"
Charles didn't respond, he just turned around and opened the door to leave. After about a minute I slowly rose up from my ethereal "slumber". I yawned and turned towards John.
"You talk too much. You ruined my beautiful slumber."
"Why are you so manly?"
What the hell?!
"What? I'm not manly!"
I'm a soft and delicate beauty.
"You're nothing like Polari."
"POLARI?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOU-"
"Right there."
He pointed at the corner of the room at a girl with black hair and black clothing.
"Sup."
"Wait…why are you wearing a sock?"
"Don't know. Why are you wearing a dress with a tie?"
"Don't know. How are you?"
"Good, I've just been in this corner…chillin."
I placed my chin on my bent index finger.
"Cool cool, so how long have you been here?"
"Uuuuuuuuum, for like a year now. John and I have been together since we were kids."
"That's cool, that's cool."
We sat in awkward silence before John stood up and clapped his hands.
"Welp, you better thank god that you met me instead of one of the creatures here. You ready to learn how to survive in this world?"
"What is there to learn that I don't already know about survival?"
John walked up to me and pointed at me, his finger was inches away from my eye as he confidently said…
"The power of potential and kinetic energy."
"What?"
John jumped back and shrugged, almost as if we all weren't in a super dire situation.
"Welp, you do know everything there is when it comes to survival. Sooooo, I'm pretty sure you're not curious about it."
"No! No! No! Tell me!"
"Praise me!"
We both stared at each other basking in what this weirdo just said.
John coughed into his hand and continued.
"The power of potential energy and kinetic energy. The power to push forward in the present with past actions."
"Isn't that just regular potential and kinetic energy?"
"No. Listen closely instead of interrupting me like a little kid and maybe you'll understand. Kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses due to its motion. And potential energy is the stored energy an object possesses due to its position, composition, or configuration, which can be released to perform work."
"Basic science, yes."
"Oh my fucking god! Shut the fuck up and let me finish!"
"Tch, continue."
"In order to use the power of potential and kinetic energy you must store the potential energy in a nearby object and in turn release it in the original object, sometimes amplifying the amount of kinetic energy in the original object."
"I'm gonna be honest with you here. I still don't understand the power of potential and kinetic energy."
"You know what? I'm gonna just show you. Come on."
"Why would I go outside with a stranger?"
"Why would you be sitting in a stranger's cabin?"
I went outside in the dangerous woods with him after he made that statement.